Thursday, 8 October 2009

IF you can keep your head when all about youAre losing theirs and blaming it on you,If you can trust yourself when all men doubt you,But make allowance for their doubting too;If you can wait and not be tired by waiting,Or being lied about, don't deal in lies,Or being hated, don't give way to hating,And yet don't look too good, nor talk too wise:

If you can dream – and not make dreams your master;If you can think – and not make thoughts your aim;If you can meet with Triumph and DisasterAnd treat those two impostors just the same;If you can bear to hear the truth you've spokenTwisted by knaves to make a trap for fools,Or watch the things you gave your life to, broken,And stoop and build 'em up with worn-out tools...

And Cameron’s speech:

If you put in the effort to bring in a wage, you will be better off.If you save money your whole life, you will be rewarded.If you start your own business, we’ll be right behind you.If you want to raise a family, we’ll support you.If you… you get the picture.

Others say the Tory leader’s speech is a little closer to the Sermon on the Mount, a lot will be down to delivery.

What’s for certain is that it will not contain any policy veering instead towards the “personal vision” type of speech.

If Lobbydog sniffs around picking up the scent on stories about our Notts politicians how come he missed the pungent odour of the Patrick Mercer and Tim Ireland fracas?

Half a million or more could see their inadequate sickness benefits cut by £25 a week and forced to join the Jobseeker's Allowance where two million or more will be struggling to find work. Add to that the fact that over 2,000 people a day are losing their job so life will indeed be for them an age of austerity.

Shadow Cabinet minister Michael Gove told Sky News: "The most compassionate thing that you can do to anyone is give them the chance to enjoy a dignified and fulfilling job ", but it’s unlikely there will be millions of rewarding gratifying jobs to enjoy and highly likely it’s mostly about cutting cost in sickness benefits.

David Cameron tarred all those on incapacity benefit with the same brush giving the impression all or most IB claimants are good-for-nothing lazy work-shy people, causing the genuine sick, embarrassment and fear of scorn in their illness.

This rearrangement would give the Treasury £1 billion over five years but what will it cost for private firms to be brought in to make 3,000 assessments every day?

Will those making the assessments have a vested interest?

If this country is in a debt crisis how come we can still afford War and spend £3bn of taxpayers money for 2009-10 to wage futile War in Afghanistan?